Before joining Back To Motion, one should ask what are the benefits of motion? Below is a description of the different anatomical structures that make up the human body and how movement affects each system. 

 

Nervous system: Movement would not be possible without a nervous system. This system helps coordinate muscle contraction like a beautiful symphony. The nervous system sends a signal through its complex and dense network to help create balance, coordination and agility to the human body. With movement, the nervous system becomes more efficient and can send the signals to the muscles faster and stronger. This is important when catching yourself when you missed the last step on the stairs or accidentally stepping off a curb on the street. 

 

Muscular system: Nerves send a signal into the muscles to contract in order to move. If this contraction happens for a short period of time such as in exercise, the muscles that are being overworked, will adapt and become stronger and have a greater ability to handle the stress placed upon the muscles. 

 

Immune system: The lymphatic system, also known as our immune system, lines our entire body and captures harmful bacteria, cancer cells, viruses and other foreign invaders. The problem is this system relies heavily on muscular contraction to help pump the lymphatic fluid throughout our body. Simply put, if we don’t move, neither does our immune system. This is why people who tend to be more active, are sick less often. 

 

Cardiovascular system: The heart and lungs are directly connected. Together, they provide the delivery of nutrients to the entire body. With movement, our lungs expel CO2 and obtain new oxygen with inhaling. The heart pumps the freshly oxygenated blood throughout the body and into our muscles and nerves. When the heart and lungs are challenged or stressed for a short period of time such as with exercise, the heart becomes better at contracting and pushes more blood into the body with the same heartbeat. The lungs simultaneously are able to absorb more oxygen and deliver it faster to the heart with the same single inhale. 

 

Joint and ligaments: Joints provide movement across different planes of the body and ligaments provide stability at the end of those joint movements. When movement occurs in a joint, such as a knee, elbow or shoulder, the joint becomes lubricated and the ligaments become stretched. The ligaments have special receptors in them that tell them to contract when overstretched as a protective mechanism. This is how reflex’s work, which is why just by moving, you develop faster reflexes, which means you respond faster and decrease the chances of being injured.